U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) on April 15 led more than a dozen of his Republican colleagues to propose legislation that would improve the permitting process for critical mineral projects on federal lands in his home state and across the nation.
The congressman said last week that his district in northeast Minnesota has an abundance of critical minerals, giving union members and skilled workers an opportunity to help the United States break free of its dependence on hostile foreign nations for integral resources.
“We need these critical minerals now, and not in two decades,” Rep. Stauber said. “That’s why I am proud to introduce legislation that will create a more timely, transparent, and reasonable permitting process.”
As ranking member of the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Rep. Stauber sponsored the Accessing America’s Critical Minerals Act of 2021, H.R. 2604, with 13 original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Tom Emmer (R-MN).
“For too long, activist groups have been able to hijack the permitting process, leaving our workers sidelined to wait for high quality jobs,” said Rep. Stauber. “Meanwhile, we ramp up dependency on foreign nations for minerals that we have in our own backyard.”
If enacted, H.R. 2604 would create a more timely, transparent and reasonable permitting process by directing federal agencies to complete the permitting process within 30 months; create and adhere to timely schedules established with stakeholders; and develop performance metrics and publish an annual report on performance, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Stauber’s staff.
Additionally, H.R. 2604 would direct the Small Business Administration to report to Congress on federal agency performance in permitting and to remove duplication of federal agencies performing identical reviews of state agencies, the summary says.
The National Mining Association and Mining Minnesota last week endorsed the bill.
“The Accessing America’s Critical Minerals Act of 2021 proposes important steps toward timely science-based environmental review and permitting to assure environmentally responsible domestic mining for the metals necessary to support our growing energy, infrastructure, and healthcare goals,” said Frank Ongaro, executive director of Mining Minnesota.